Meet the Team - Matt Lenehan

Strava Track Club members are engaged in a wide variety of vocational and other pursuits in addition to their running. Find out more about our team in our new weekly feature, Meet the Team.  Along with Ben Mears (below) and other Strava TC members, Matt is headed toward the Boston Marathon this year.  He's chosen a different way to get to know him - through his Strava run descriptions!  Check out his post on Medium here, and follow him during his daily runs and races, including Boston, on Strava!

Meet the Team - Ben Mears

Strava Track Club members are engaged in a wide variety of vocational and other pursuits in addition to their running. Find out more about our team in our new weekly feature, Meet the Team.  After a short hiatus, we're back with Ben Mears, a software engineer and Amherst grad. Follow his adventures, including Monday's Boston Marathon, on Strava!

Running has been a central part of my life ever since middle school.  Through high school in upstate New York, then college and grad school in Western Massachusetts, and now in the working world in Silicon Valley, running has played a core role in each of these periods and made each fun and adventurous.  

At Amherst College my freshman year, I was the young and excited runner who sometimes liked to explore a little too much.  After the first week, I decided to explore the trails around Amherst by myself.  Venturing out on a 10 mile run after spending hours studying the trail maps, I quickly became completely lost.  Nearly an hour a half into the run I finally found myself on the main road coming out of Amherst.  Not totally sure where I was, I guessed left was the correct direction and picked up the pace.  5+ miles later, I was relieved to finally see campus, having just finished my first (unplanned) 2+ hour run.  Throughout the year, I continued to explore the trails and dirt roads around Amherst--even getting an infamous “Ben Mears special” run named after me after dragging one of the older runners on a 15mi run that went directly up the first 7.5 miles, then directly down for 7.5 miles.  I have since learned to look at elevation maps before going on a run!

At Amherst, I had a successful freshman season, cracking the top 7 and making the trip with the team to DIII XC Nationals.  After a strong start to my sophomore year, I soon got the dreaded injury bug and missed the next 2+ years.  While there were many times I considered giving up on running during those two years, with lots of encouragement from my coach I finally made it back for track my senior year.

After undergrad, I made the not-so-long trek over to UMass Amherst for grad school.  Since I had eligibility left, I decided to try walking on to the UMass XC team.  Despite not having run a cross country race since my sophomore year and now making the jump from Division III to I, I was able to make the team and crack the top 7 by the end of the season.

Although I only raced one season at UMass, I made a lot of great friends and ended up joining the Western Mass Distance Project (WMDP), a club team a group of UMass almuni put together.  I continued to race with the team while in grad school and also volunteer assistant coached at Amherst College, while getting in lots of runs with my college coach, and the UMass and Amherst XC teams.

After grad school, I took a job at Google and made the trek out to the West coast.  Within my first few days at Google, I scoured the internet for Corporate Challenge results and using Google’s company wide employee data base got in touch with fellow runners at the company.  I soon found out there was an informal company team (Google1) and over the next year ran multiple races with the team, including overnight adventures doing Hood to Coast and the Golden Gate relay.

After Google, I’ve since started working at Wealthfront, a startup in Palo Alto and joined Strava track club.  Working and training in Palo Alto has been perfect, with great teammates to do workouts and runs with, amazing year-round weather, and easy access to the trails in the foothills.  I’m currently training for the Boston marathon--the trip itself will in some regards be a reminder of all the people I’ve met and places I’ve been because of running.  I will be going with some of my Strava TC teammates, racing with former co-workers at Google and teammates from WMDP, and making trips back to Amherst and Upstate New York to see former teammates and coaches.

For me, the most important part of running has been always making sure I’m having fun--because if I’m not, there’s nothing else that’s going to get me out the door each day for a run.  While this mentality sometimes gets me in trouble (I’m been known to have trouble saying no to joining in on another workout or long run when I should be taking a rest day!), the alternative would likely be a life without running--and that wouldn’t be much fun!

Meet the Team - Stephanie Pancoast

Strava Track Club members are engaged in a wide variety of vocational and other pursuits in addition to their running. Find out more about our team in our new weekly feature, Meet the Team.  This week's female athlete is Stephanie Pancoast, a Cornell grad and electrical engineer for whom running hasn't been a temporary pursuit, but something she's enjoyed with family her entire life.  Follow her adventures in running and triathlon on Strava!

I have been attending road races for my entire life. I grew up in a running family and although I did not identify as a runner until high school, my family and the community they are part of is a main reason it is such a core part of who I am today.

As a baby I was only a spectator. Sometimes my parents would recruit a friend to watch me (and eventually my sister). Sometimes we’d be passed between parents so both mom and dad could get their race in. Shortly after I was able to walk I started participating the kid’s tot trots. Thanks to my parent’s advice, I developed some valuable racing strategies in those 400 meter races. “Don’t start out too fast”, “Don’t look back”, and of course, “Kick it in!”

The problem with the kid’s races is they do not overlap with the main event, so I would still have to watch the road race. To me at the time it was so boring! So around age 10 I started participating in the “adult” 5Ks. There were a few other things I needed to learn, like how to take water from a water stop without choking (still working on that) or pre-race diet watching (a full chicken nuggets meal 1 hour before a race does not work for me). While my initial goal was to finish without walking, I was still competitive during the race, even if it meant sprinting past a 80 year old woman at the finish. I’m sorry but there was no way I was going to lose to her.  Although I liked the races, I still did not enjoy running. So every Sunday when my mom would leave to go for her long run and ask if I wanted to join for a mile or two, I would laugh and say “yeah right”.

By the time I entered high school, however, my long-term love of gymnastics was fading and I wanted a change. I was told gymnasts made good pole vaulters, so I joined the track and field team to pole vault. At my high school, fielding athletes also were required to train with a running group. Almost all fielders joined the sprinting group. Not me- I joined the distance crew.

After being around older runners my entire life, there were definitely some surprising culture differences between my parent’s running community and my new one. The most memorable difference involved spandex. At the first cold practice of the season, many of my teammates wore long spandex pants with shorts over them. My parents and all their friends would only wear the spandex so I was confused and asked someone why the shorts. The response: “eek seriously? how could you not?”. Good thing I chose the loose pants that morning!

During that first track season, pole vaulting was so much fun. When I got to the point I could run 5 miles and talk the entire time, running got better, but still, it was just ok. I was not a runner. I was a pole vaulter who happened to run the 2 mile because her coach made her (if it was up to me I would have done the 800).

I think it was cross-country my sophomore year that finally converted me. I really liked being part of a school team and was ok at the longer distances so cross-country made sense. Maybe it was the improved fitness; maybe it was the awesome teammates; maybe it was the trail running under the New England foliage. Whatever the reason, by the end of the season I was hooked.

I quit gymnastics, and although I continued to pole vault throughout my 4 years, I was focused on distance running. To the best of my knowledge, I was the only pole vaulter/ distance runner in the state. This is probably because it was not an ideal setup. Warming up the vault, running a 2-mile, vaulting again to try to clear some height, running a 4x800, and then trying to clear whatever height the bar was at when I returned was challenging. Still, the skills I gained during my time as a pole vaulter most definitely came in handy when I became a steeplechaser in college!

Since that sophomore year cross-country season, running has been so many things to me- a social medium through which I have met some of my best friends, a meditative activity I rely on to de-stress, a way to explore new places (especially when traveling!) and a means and reason to live healthy. Words cannot possibly capture how amazing it was to run for Cornell, or how much a role Strava Track Club has played in helping me love California. Some day I hope to be one of those inspiring 80-year old athletes that maintain a competitive spirit even when life-time PRs are no longer relevant. If a 10-year old tries to sprint by me I am holding him or her off. But even if my body decides it just cannot handle the running any more, I know I will always be a runner.

Meet the Team - Nick Scalfone

Strava Track Club members are engaged in a wide variety of vocational and other pursuits in addition to their running. Find out more about our team in our new weekly feature, Meet the Team.  This week's athlete is Nick Scalfone, an east coast transplant who has found a way to enjoy running and racing in unique and evolving ways.  Follow Nick over the snow and up many steep hills on Strava!

Being a part of Strava Track Club has brought me together with a diverse and talented group of athletes. I have the pleasure of learning each teammate’s personal running career story including their past accomplishments and goals for the future. My story doesn’t feature breaking 4 in the mile, a trip to the Olympic Trials or even a division I college pedigree. My story is of the challenge of reinventing myself as a runner and finding crazy, new endeavors in the process. 

In high school, I was your average cross country and track runner and went on to a have a fulfilling but average career for SUNY Oneonta, a small Division III college in central New York State. After foot and hamstring injuries had affected my already unimpressive speed, I decided to transition away from track to shorter road races and eventually marathons and trail racing. I ran the Boston Marathon in 2007, New York in 2011 and had totaled 7 by the time I completed San Francisco Marathon in 2012. While none of my marathons were record breaking or complete disasters, I was still left looking for fun, new, challenging ways to enjoy the sport as my career progressed.

In 2010 while living in Ithaca, New York, I was introduced to trail running and snowshoeing by my two training partners, friends and mentors, Eric Sambolec and Earl Steinbrecher. What began as a social way to add variety to my training and to enjoy the great outdoors during all seasons in upstate New York, eventually became my running niche. My success, however, was not instant by any stretch of the imagination. In my first 2 trail races, I fell down and finished middle of the pack. One race director even gave me a special recognition for most time spent on the ground and awarded me a 6-pack of beer as a consolation prize. Trail racing was incredibly difficult compared to track and road, but for some reason I wanted more and believed I could master it over time. Trail racing is not just about speed, but rather a delicate balance of agility, strength and technical mastery. This only motivated me to get out there on the trails and train as much as I could to refine my footwork and build strength in new areas of my body.

My initial experience with snowshoeing was almost identical. On my first time out on a snowshoe run with my experienced friends, I was unable to finish just one mile without stopping. It was the most strenuous aerobic workout my body had ever experienced and despite my poor attempt, I wanted more! I soon invested in a high-end pair of Dion racing snowshoes and set out to practice as much as I could. By the end of the winter 2010, I could finish our 10k training loop without stopping. The following year after a season of training and more experience, I began competing in snowshoe 5k and 10k races. By 2012, I was consistently winning races. In 2013, I placed 7th at US Snowshoe Nationals in Bend, OR. Because of the minimal snow in California, 2014 was a more difficult season and I placed 10th at Nationals in a deep field in Vermont. Again this year, due to unseasonably warm weather I have only had three opportunities to snowshoe. To compensate, I train heavily on hills and supplement my running with weight training and core exercises. 

As I write this, I am preparing to travel to Eau Claire, WI, to compete in my third US Snowshoe Nationals 10k on February 28th. Regardless of the competition and my access to snow for training, it is always my goal to place top 5 overall and make the US National Snowshoe Team (Ed. note - Nick finished 7th, three spots better than in 2014).

Later this year, I plan make my 50k trail debut in Laramie, Wyoming as I celebrate my 30th birthday by running a 50K (30mi and then some icing on the cake).The second half of 2015 will feature the USATF Mountain Championships in Bend, OR, the Xterra US Trail Half Marathon National Championships in Ogden, UT and finishing the year in our backyard with the USATF Club Cross Country Nationals in Golden Gate Park.

I'll conclude this blog entry with a motto of my former college coach, which I believe epitomizes my approach to running and challenges in life in general: "bold dreams, hard work, raw confidence." 

Meet the Team - Sam Yount

Strava Track Club members are engaged in a wide variety of vocational and other pursuits in addition to their running. Find out more about our team in our new weekly feature, Meet the Team.  This week's athlete spends his days working in marketing for personal investment start-up FutureAdvisor, and his weekends on the roads with his wife Maggie and baby son, who do things like set world records in the stroller 10K.  With a multi-sport background, Sam is a regular in our team squads on the road and cross country course, and in this week's MTT entry, recounts his most memorable race.  Follow Sam, Maggie, and Bear on Strava! 

My most memorable race.

It was 2003, and I had just graduated from college at the University of Chicago.  

Struggling with recurring stress fractures, I had spent hundred and hundreds of hours riding a bike instead of running as I tried to save my college running career.  It didn't work: I ended up as a pretty good cyclist -- with less than 5 running races in college. The summer after graduation, I was itching to run competitively again.

Then I discovered this thing called Duathlon. Run, Bike, Run--right up my alley.  

And the Elite Nationals were only a couple hours away in Ohio. I signed up, and took the solo road trip to King's Island for the race.  Race morning: I showed up and there were 5 guys in the Elite division.  The race (10K run, 40k bike, 5k run--Draft Legal) was a learning experience. Racing that hard for 2 hours hurt, a ton, and the drafting opportunities were basically nonexistent against a field that small. After I finished 4th, I found out I'd qualified for an all expense paid trip to the World Championships in Geel, Belgium.  Your tax dollars at work.

A bunch of the elites who had qualified for the race pooled our money and rented this house in a little vacation community in Geel.  It was more like a summer camp right out of a Griswold's European Vacation--same time period, too.  Two days before the race, we went in to register and collect our packets.  There was a TV crew there. They interviewed me as a representative from the "USA Contingent".  

That evening a couple of us drove to a restaurant someone had recommended.  Little did we know it was about an hour and 15 minutes away...  

The food was amazing, but it was served at a rural Belgian speed and by the time we headed back, it was quite late.  In the middle of nowhere, the car engine seized.  After a bit of cursing and confusion, we went looking for a phone to call Avis and get rescued.  

It was cold and dark, but there was a farmhouse in the distance.  We walked half a mile to its lit windows and knocked.  A middle aged man answered.  After trying to explain our situation in English and getting a blank stare, I tried again in high school French.  Still nothing.  He held up a finger and shut the door.  At this point we were worried. A minute later his teenaged son opens the door and says "Hey, What's up?"  

He let us use the phone and we were told it would be 2 hours before they could come get us and tow the car.  The family invited us in to stay warm.  It was exactly what I imagined a Belgian Farmhouse would look like.  A roaring fire, the family sitting around watching the evening news.  The father insisted that we drink Duvels with him until the tow truck shows up.  As soon as I get a sip of my beer, I'm on the news--with Flemish subtitles.  The family looks at me, looks at the TV, looks back at me.  This was my moment in the sun...  

The next day, the race began, and it was like nothing I'd ever experienced.  

The field was big.  Duathlon in Belgium is a hugely popular sport.  Benny Vansteelant was a national hero.  The race had Tour De France style helicopter coverage and is being broadcast live nationwide.  On race morning, it was drizzling and the opening 10k went out at a blistering pace on slippery cobblestones.  I hit the first kilometer at 2:57 and was in second to last in a field of nearly 100.  

Most of my race effort went into not getting lapped by the leaders.  If you were lapped, you got pulled from the race.  I could tell they were close when the helicopter started coming up behind me on the bike.  I was less than 100m ahead of the lead pack when they finished the bike segment (and I still had a lap to go).  I was able to finish the race right before the completion of the awards ceremony.  2nd to last official finisher--to call it humbling would be an understatement.

After the race we went back to the house to find a group of German teenagers playing drinking games. They insisted that we join the Beer Olympics as their first foreign competitors.  Displaying an impressive command of American geography and alcohol, they named me Anheuser Busch, since I had grown up in St. Louis. My teammate from Nashville was dubbed Jack Daniels.  We chugged bad beers, army crawled in the sand, chugged more beer and dove in a freezing cold lake. A fitting end to my most memorable race.